Nagekaji to tsutsumishi koro no namida dani uchimakasetaru kokochi ya wa seshi

嘆かじと包みし頃の涙だに
うちまかせたる心地やはせし

Roma-ji: Nagekaji to tsutsumishi koro no namida dani uchimakasetaru kokochi ya wa seshi
English Translation: Even the tears from
the days when I'd hide my grief,
resolved not to mourn—
did they ever feel to flow
just as they themselves would wish?
Meaning: Even in the days when I hid my tears, resolving not to grieve, did they ever feel as though they flowed freely? No—and how much less so now.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 1312

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "One hundred and ten love poems"
Even the tears of the days when he hid them, resolved not to grieve, did they ever feel as though they flowed freely? No, the poet says.
Looking back, he says that even when he kept his love hidden, tears could not be held back, implying that now they flow without end. It contrasts with the preceding poem's tears left to flow.

First line, “nagekaji to”: ji is negative volition, "resolving not to grieve."
Second line, “tsutsumishi koro no”: of the time I hid them.
Third line, “namida dani”: dani infers, "even the tears."
Fourth line, “uchimakasetaru”: left to flow as they would.
Fifth line, “kokochi ya wa seshi”: ya wa is rhetorical, "did it ever feel so? No."
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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